Malta Enterprise has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Agency for Promotion of Industry and Innovation (APII) in Tunisia with a view to strengthening the trade and investment relations between Malta and Tunisia as well as enhancing cooperation between the two organisations with particular attention to SMEs.
In this sense, the MOU establishes a practical framework and sets forth the procedures for cooperation, outlining the organisations' intentions to collaborate on initiatives such as exchange programmes, business missions and events, facilitation of investment, as well as exchange of information that would be helpful for the respective organisations and the businesses they assist.
Chief Executive Officer Dr Sue Vella signed the MOU on behalf of Malta Enterprise while leading a business delegation to Tunisia, where she also had meetings with the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency in Tunisia (FIPA) during which the new investment code being finalised in Tunisia, the stable administrative framework, and the efforts to improve infrastructure and HR were highlighted.
Representatives of 13 companies operating in Malta within sectors such as healthcare, energy, construction, engineering, ICT as well as industrial supplies took part in the business delegation with the aim of exploring the opportunities that the nieghbouring country offers.
Besides participating in a business seminar and having a series of one-to-one meetings, the delegates also had the opportunity to visit the CAT 2012 Business and Technology Convention, one of the biggest international business events in Tunisia with particular focus on industrial development, innovation and technology.
While some of the delegates returned to Malta following the visit to Tunisia – which was the fourth to be held since the Arab Spring - the rest of the business delegation proceeded to Algeria, where they were joined by some other representatives of companies operating in Malta, amongst others by companies from the travel and tourism industry.
In Algiers, the business delegation took part in a business seminar which sought to promote trade and investment opportunities.
Presentations by representatives from Malta Enterprise, the Forum des Chefs d'Entreprises and the National Agency of Investment Development (ANDI) gave an overview of the business environment in each country and the business opportunities they offer and were followed by one-to-one meetings with representatives of companies in Algeria.
The delegates also had the opportunity to visit the secon largest city in the country, Oran, where they could view the ongoing activity in one of the major ports and the main commercial, industrial and educational centre of western Algeria.
The business delegation was organised with the support of FinanceMalta, the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, the General Retailers and Traders Union, the Gozo Business Chamber, the Malta Tourism Authority and the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association.